Sleeper for use on railways or the like.



2 Sheets-Sheet i.

Myra-i".-

Patented lan. 23, |900.

l F. HENNEBIQUE.

(Application Bled July 21, 1899.)

i n I l l I I- 1111 llJl. 2.11 111| EL (No Model.)

llllllll lil- U ANo. 641,697. Patented 1an. 23, |900.

F. HENNEBIGUE.

SLEEPEB FOR USE 0N RAILWAYS 0R THE LIKE.

[Application filed July l21, 11899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

. (No Model.)

r, n n e M NiTED STATES FRANQOIS HENNEBIQUE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

SLEEPER FOR USE ON RAILWAYS OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,697, dated January 23, 1900.

Application iiled July 21, 1899. Serial No. 724,700. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANoIs HENNEBIQUE, a citizen ot' the Republic of France, residing at 54 Boulevard St. Michel, Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Sleepers for Use on Railways or the Like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.`

The improvements which I have introduced in the construction of sleepers proper of strengthened beton and which form the ob ject of the present application, combined with the method of fixing the rails, Which forms the object of another application tiled by me for Letters Patent ot' the United States,dated July 21, 1899, Serial No. 724,701, `avoid all the difficulties which prevent the use of strengthened cement beton for constructing railway-tracks.

The characteristics of my invention are as follows: My sleepers have a form which insures their perfect connection with the ballast. They are arranged to act as a support for the rails and prevent spreading or widening of the track. Finally, the judicious distribution of the iron skeleton or strengthening in the mass of cement insures to them a resistance to the various strains to which they are subjected by the passage of trains over the rails. In principle I give the sleeper the form ot a reversed T (.L) or even the form of a double T laid on its side (i-I), so as to have a large Hat horizontal area, forming a dish, and ou this area one or two vertical parts are placed, the ballast accumulating on the horizontal wings or flanges around the vertical wings, which serve it for support, and thus preventing the sleeper from turning or moving in the direction of the track. In case a double horizontally-laid T(||) shaped sleeper is employed the ballast bears on the two faces of the horizontal area. Each of the vertical skeletons of the sleeper is formed like a strengthened cement girder and-arranged according to the principles explained in one of my prior patents. To sum up, the sleeper is formed of one or more beams connected on a iiat area, forming a dish, the whole forming a monolith and 'allowing the ballast to accum ulat-e on the sleeper instead of merely enveloping the latter. In case the core is used of the shape of a double T laid on its side the sleeper is formed by twin beams or twin gir-ders connected by a iiat area.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown as an example two forms of sleepers arranged accordingto the principles hereinbefore enumerated.

Figures 1 to 5 represent a sleeperin the form of a reversed T Q-that is to say, formed by a girder resting on a fiat area, forming a dish and serving for the accumulation of ballast. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation of a halfsleeper; Fig. 2, a corresponding plan View. Figs'. 3, 4, and 5 are transverse sections, respectively, on the lines 3 3, 4 4, and 5 5 of Figs. l and 2. Figs. 6 and 7 show, respectively, in longitudinal section and partial plan View, a half-sleeper in the form of a double T laid on the side, Fig. 6 being a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 7. Figs. 8 and 9 are transverse sections, respectively, on the lines Y8 8 and 9 9 oi' Fig. 6.

The vertical skeleton or core V, forming the beam, is strengthened by means of two longitudinal iron bars F F', connected by stirrup-shaped pieces E. The immovable connection between the skeleton or core V and the part H for forming'the monolith is insured by horizontal stirrupshaped pieces E E2. The horizontal area may be strengthened, particularly at those points Where it will undergo the greatest strains-that is to say, toward the ends and in the parts adjacent to the rails by irons R R'. The rail rests on an enlarged part, forming the shoulder C, against the core or skeleton V. This partitioning of the reversed -T- shaped tapered core where the rails pass further increases the facility of retaining the sleeper against lateral displacements. The core or skeleton V is hollowed out or recessed at e, the lateral faces e' e2 of the recess forming a shoulder for the support of the devices for keying and fixing the rail.

Referring to Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, the vertical parts or wings are formed of two girders of strengthened cement V V2, connected by a flat area H, forming a dish for holding ballast and serving for retaining or anchoring this latter. The constitution ofthe girders V V2 is according to the principles hereinbefore mentioned, and the formation of the block or monolith is insured by means of iron bars R or stirrup-shaped horizontal pieces suitably distributed. The rail 0" always rests in a recess, which in this whole arrangement is obtained bya groove, enabling the area H to be employed as a surface for the support of the rail. Partitions C C serve as shoulders and strengtheningpieces and also for preventing the lateral displacement of the sleeper.

I claim- 1. A composite sleeper comprising a horizontal base portion, a vertical portion having bearing-shoulders for the rails, rods at the top and below said vertical portion, and stir- 

